Gunners still miss the target

Andy Munro looks back on a memorable day for Blues.

Devoid of my footballing fix, I dusted off my DVD of Blues’ epic Carling Cup win – prized but never watched before since I was there in person, and this to tie in with it being the anniversary week of that Wembley appearance.

Memories that brought back Blues amazingly edging a tight first half and then being under the cosh in the second period before Alex (soon to be ‘Judas’) McLeish bringing on some new attacking options.

Of course, the rest is history as Obafemi Martins scored the easiest goal of his career following a tragi-comical error in the Arsenal defence. Cue Arsene Wenger looking like he was chewing a bag of spanners; mind you, he always looked like that.

Yet, despite the fact that Ben Foster was rightly man of the match, many forget that we had a cast-iron penalty turned down in the first half when an onside Lee Bowyer was brought down. That Keith Fahy hit the inside of the post in the second half with the Arsenal keeper well beaten and that in the closing stages, Martins could easily have made it three if it wasn’t for last-ditch tackling from the Gunners.

My standout performer, other than Foster, was a brilliant Stephen Carr who bombed up and down the wing like an 18 year old, without neglecting his defensive duties. A 34 year-old Lee Bowyer who played like a 24 year-old deep lying forward continually running through onto Nikola Zigic’s inexorable flick ons and finally Barry Ferguson, who guarded the ball preciously as if it was the Koh-I-Noor diamond.

Probably never to be repeated but a memorable day for long-suffering Bluenoses!